Grand Rapids Press File PhotoA long-vacant commercial building at 100 Commerce Ave. SW is targeted for conversion to apartments before school starts next fall.

GRAND RAPIDS -- Apartments catering to downtown students should be ready by August now that a historic preservation hurdle has been cleared, a local developer said.

A planned $2.9 million renovation of a century-old building in the Heartside district got OK'd Wednesday by the city's Historic Preservation Commission, with little concern other than to save some of the rooftop chimneys.

Fusion Properties wants to convert the structure at 100 Commerce Ave. SW, across from Thomas M. Cooley Law School, into 31 units. Most will have one bedroom, along with some two-bedroom and efficiency apartments. Monthly rent likely will range from about $650 to $1,250.

About 1,400-square-feet of ground-floor retail also is planned for the building that still sports "Grand Central Engineering Co." on its side. No retail tenant has been signed, developer Doug Gulker said.

"It's probably going to be some kind of coffee shop or convenience store," he said. If it's a convenience store, alcohol will not be sold, he said.

The building, erected in 1908 to house a commercial bakery, has been vacant for several years and previous redevelopment efforts have stalled. Fusion got a slew of historic preservation and brownfield tax credits to make its project viable, said Gulker, who also was involved in development of Hopson Flats.

"Hopefully, the Historic Preservation Commission is our final hoop," he said.

The commission signed off on plans, requiring only that two of the building's chimneys be kept. The stacks are integral to the building's history as a bakery, said Barry Van Dyke, commission vice chairman.